Charles Nordhoff (31 August 1830 – 14 July 1901) was an American journalist, descriptive and miscellaneous writer.

Biography

He was born in

Erwitte Erwitte () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Erwitte is situated approximately 8 km south of Lippstadt and 15 km east of Soest. Neighbouring municipalities * Lippstadt * Geseke * R ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

) in 1830, and emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1835. He was educated in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and apprenticed to a printer in 1843. In 1844, he went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

where he worked for a short time in a newspaper office. He then joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1845 (aged 15), where he served three years and made a voyage around the world in the

USS Columbus (1819) USS ''Columbus'' was a 92-gun ship of the line in the United States Navy. Although construction of the warship was authorized by Congress on 2 January 1813, plunder of the Washington Navy Yard by British troops in 1814 during the burning of Wa ...

, which was engaged in first attempts at opening up Japan to the U.S.A, and in establishing full diplomatic relations with China. After his Navy service, he remained at sea from 1847 in the merchant service, and then whaling, mackerel fishery ships until 1854 (aged 24). From 1853 to 1857, he worked in various newspaper offices, first in Philadelphia, then in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. He was then employed editorially by Harpers in 1857 until 1861, when he went to work the next ten years on the staff of the New York '' Evening Post'', 1861-1871, and he later contributed to the New York ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

''. From 1871 to 1873 Nordhoff traveled in California and visited

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. He then became

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

correspondent of the New York ''

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

'' 1874-1890. Nordhoff died in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. ''The Valley of Cross Purposes'', an extensive biography by Carol Frost, PhD, was published in 2017.The Valley of Cross Purposes: Charles Nordhoff and American Journalism, 1860 - 1890
Carol J. Frost, PhD

Family

He was the father of Walter Nordhoff (1855-1937), author of ''The Journey of the Flame'', penned under the name "Antonio de Fierro Blanco", and of Evelyn Hunter Nordhoff (ca. 1865–1898), America's first female bookbinder and printmaker. He was the grandfather of Charles Bernard Nordhoff, co-author of ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...

''.

Legacy

The city of Ojai, California, was named for him originally. It was changed due to

anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment largely began wit ...

of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

era, though the local high school retains his name. Nordhoff Street, in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, is named in his honor. This statement above about anti-German sentiment needs citation from the writer. There is no evidence that the name of the city changed from Nordhoff to Ojai due to anti-German sentiment. Research in the local newspaper, "The Ojai," revealed nothing regarding this. The fact is that the valley was named the Ojai Valley after the Chumash Indian word 'Awha'y meaning moon and it was generally called simply "the Ojai." In the Rancho period it was called by the Spanish name Rancho Ojay. There is a direct connection between the completion of the Spanish-style transformation of the downtown in the spring of 1917 and the name change. Many town promoters, including Edward Drummond Libbey, were in favor of renaming the town because they thought the name was a better, more meaningful fit. (References below).

Works

His most widely known books are ''Communistic Societies of The United States'', and ''California for Health, Pleasure and Residence''. * Kern, ''Practical Landscape Gardening'', editor (Cincinnati, 1855) * ''Man-of-War Life: a Boy's Experience in the U. S. Navy'', largely autobiographical (Cincinnati, 1855) * ''The Merchant Vessel'' (1855) * ''Whaling and Fishing'' (1855; new edition, 1903) * ''Nine Years as a Sailor'' (1857) * ''Stories from the Island World'' (New York, 1857) * ''Secession Is Rebellion: the Union Indissoluble'' (1860) * ''The Freedmen of South Carolina: Some Account of their Appearance, Character, Condition, and Customs'' (1863)
''America for Free Working Men!''
(1865) * ''Cape Cod and All Along Shore'', a collection of stories (1868) * ''California: For Health, Pleasure, and Residence'' (1873) * ''Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands'' (1874) * ''Politics for Young Americans'' (1875) This was adopted as a school textbook.
''The Communistic Societies of the United States''
(1875) * ''The Cotton States in the Spring and Summer of 1875'' (1876) * ''God and the Future Life'' (1881) * ''A Guide to California, the Golden State'' (1883) * ''The merchant vessel - a sailor boy's voyages around the world'' (1884) * ''Peninsular California'' (1888)

Notes

References

* * *"Inventing Ojai: When Edward Libbey's Vision Met Our Reality," by Mark Lewis, Ojai Quarterly magazine, Fall 2016, p.p. 123-126 *"The Ojai Valley: An Illustrated History," 2017 (Version 7, June 2019), by Patricia L. Fry, Elise DePuydt, Craig Walker p.p. 232-233

External links

* *
Oneida">The Perfectionists of Oneida
and Wallingford (online text)-Includes description of their "complex marriage" and rites of "criticism."
California: for health, pleasure, and residence. A book for travellers and settlers (online text)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordhoff, Charles American male journalists Writers from California 1830 births 1901 deaths German emigrants to the United States Ojai, California Journalists from New York City